The King That Was
by Posauthor
Summary: Prompto and the boys visit the royal tomb of their late friend, Noctis.  (I apologize, I'm terrible with summaries.)
1. chapter 1

It's been about two years since King Noctis had died. Two years since he restored the light to the world. Two years since what was left of the chocobros have been together.

They made a plan two months ago to visit their late friends royal tomb on the anniversary of his death to pay their repsects. Prompto didn't think that it would be this difficult without Noct, but every day he remembers his best friend and the pain starts anew. Every day he goes through old pictures, old highschool messages, etc. He just can't believe that his best friend has been gone two years. He's sure that Ignis and Gladio are having a hard time too, hell, they've known him a lot longer. But if he's being honest with himself, him and Noct were close to being more than friends, but with his engagement to Luna nothing ever came of it.

Noct's tomb was located just north of Hammerhead, just over looking the Outpost. They figured they spent a lot of time there, with Cid, Cindy, and Takka that it just seemed like a good spot if any.

The day came to meet up with the other two guys and prompto was nervous for some reason, it's been almost two years since he's seen them. Sure they call each other often enough, but to actually be with them again, made him anxious.

Prompto pulled into the Outpost and parked next to where Cindy was lounging. He got out of the car and slowly walked up to her.

"Hey Prom, how ya doin sweetie?" she asked softly, pulling him into a tight hug. He saw Cindy often enough, hell, he practically lived in Hammerhead.

"Better, it's still hard, ya know." He answered as the embrace ended.

"Oh, I know, trust me. What I wouldn't give to see his majesty once more." She smiled at him. "Whens the other two supposed to show up?"

"Shouldn't be too long, they were almost here when I called them." He said as they walked into the diner.

"Good, they hardly visit anymore. Damn shame it is." She said and they sat in one of the booths. Takka walked over after a couple minutes.

"Hey, Prompto, how ya doin?" He asked as he took their orders.

"Like I told Cindy, I'm doing better, that's what matters." He said smiling at the cook.

"Well, that's good to hear at least." He said and walked back over to the kitchen .

Cindy and Prompto sat in a comfortable silence until his phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and saw that Gladio was calling him. "They must be here" he thought out loud.

"Can't wait to see them boys." Cindy smiled as Prompto answered the phone.

"Heyaz" Prompto answered in a chipper tone, like how he'd greet Noct in the mornings, the thought made him sigh.

"Yo, Ignis and I are here, you in the diner?" Gladio answered in his deep gruff.

"Yup, sitting here with Cindy." He said, Gladio hung up the phone and shortly after he and Ignis walked in. Prompto stood up as they walked to the table and was pulled into a hug by Gladio. Ignis giving Cindy a small hug.

"Long time no see" was all he said as he let go.

"Right. It's good to see you Prom" Gladio said and stepped back and he also gave Cindy a hug.

"Hello Prompto" Ignis said as Prompto pulled him into a hug.

"Hey iggy." Prompto was extremely happy to have his old friends with him, especially today. "We really need to not let it be so long that we see each other." Prompto said letting go of his friend. "How have ya guys been?"

"Getting by. Been doing a lot hunts more often than not." Gladio said as they all sat back into the booth. Takka came by with Cindy and Promptos food and took the other two's order.

"So, two years today." Prompto said, sighing sadly.

"Indeed, we brought some flowers to lay on his majesty's tomb." Ignis told the blonde.

"I appreciate it Ignis, I'm sure Noct would too." He said as he took a bite out of his burger.

"Guess what Prompto." Said Gladio, staring at him.

"Um, what?" He asked around a mouthful of food.

"A certain someone here is gonna be able to get his vision back."

"Woah, really?! How?" he asked, very excited.

"A group of doctors came to the crown city and are helping with the reconstruction. I was talking to them about it and they said that with the right equipment that they should be able to get ignis a new eye."

"Just the one? So an eye replacement?"

"The skin on the right eye is too damaged and the lid is permanently shut. So yes, just my left. It'll still be a few months from now. But I am looking forward to it." Ignis said

"God, your puns are still terrible." Prompto laughed. "Noct would be happy to hear that."

"He would." Ignis agreed. Takka brought out their food shortly after. The group talked amicably for another hour or two before setting out to visit their late friends tomb.

"Hey, tell the prince that we all miss him." Cindy told prompto, smiling sadly at him.

"Will do, Cindy." He smiled back at her.

It took about an hour to get to Noct's tomb, Prompto pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He paused and took a deep breath before pushing it open.

"Gods, this is hard." He muttered. Gladio put a hand on his shoulder, letting him know that they were here for him. He smiled at the taller man and they walked in.

It looked the same as when it was first built. And it looked the same as all of the other tombs. Regis, included. They had one built for the former King when it all ended. So that he could be put to rest. Prompto walked up to the stone statue of his dear friend and laid a hand over where his heart would be.

"Hey buddy, been a while since we've visited." Prompto spoke out loud. "We're all here though, we all miss you." Prompto was trying not to burst into tears, but it was proving extremely difficult.

He took a deep breath and continued, "Ignis and Gladio brought you some flowers, your favorite ones that you told us about, the ones from Tenebrae." He looked over to the other two to see if they had anything to say. Gladio stepped up and placed his hand on the sword that the statue held.

"Hey, brat, Gladio here, I just want to say, we all miss you. Even me," he said laughing, but you could see the tears in his eyes. "The reconstruction with the Crown City is going under way and they're putting suitable Kings on the list. Believe it or not, I'm on that list." He looked over at Prompto as he said that. Prompto looked surprised, he just nodded. "There's a group of doctors there that we talked to and they should be able to restore Iggy's left eye. Within the year of course." Ignis walked up and placed his hand on Noct's head.

"King Noctis, we all miss you dearly. Cindy and the folks in Hammerhead miss you as well." He said.

Ignis walked next to where Prompto was standing and placed the flowers on his chest. "We wish you could be here." He said, wiping back the tear that threatened to come out.

"Could you guys give me a minute?" Prompto asked them. They nodded and walked out of the tomb and leaving the door slightly ajar. Leaving Prompto in the dark.

"Noct, I won't lie, it's been really hard without you. There are days that I just want to die, days where the pain is too much. But I know you would want to me keep going. I haven't stopped taking pictures, that's pretty much all I do now. Pays well enough. I miss hunting with you, I miss being by your side, I miss my damn best friend. I wish that I had told you that I loved you when we were still young. Before Ardyn fucked everything up." Prompto was heavily crying now, the tears dropping on to the stone below him. "Noct, I would give anything to see you once more. I love you." He cried. "I love you so goddamn much that I can't move on. I just want to be with you!" He crouched down and laid his head on statues chest, sobbing heavily. "I miss you so much man." Ignis and Gladio peeked inside and saw Prompto sobbing.

"Poor kid." Gladio said and Ignis nodded. They walked in and both put a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Prom, you'll be alright." Gladio said to him.

"We're always here for you, you know that." Ignis said, rubbing his arm.

"Thanks guys." He said in between sobs.

"As much as we'd all like to stay, it's getting pretty dark out. So we should head back." Gladio said, Prompto nodded in agreement and stood up and wiped the tears away.

"Just let me say goodbye." He said and the older two nodded and walked out.

"Why is this so hard Noct?" He sighed. "I guess I should probably go, it's getting late. I love you Noct. I'll see you soon." He said and leaned down to kiss the stones cheek and walked out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Noct sighed as he rolled out of bed, not that he had to sleep anymore, it was more of a habit. Living in the Astral Plain had its perks. He was never hungry, but he enjoyed eating, he didn't require sleep, but he enjoyed sleeping, and all other basic functions, he no longer had to deal with. Sleeping was mostly a hobby at this point. This is where he is going to spend the rest of eternity after all.

His father, Luna, Ravus, and him all shared the same space of eternity, and if he was honest with himself, he was glad. He would have hated to have to spend forever alone. He missed his friends, dearly, especially Prompto. He wished that he could be with them again. He missed all the hunts they would go on when they were low on Gil or just simply bored. He missed their lazy days where they'd do nothing but play videogames all. He missed training with them after setting camp for the night. Hell, he even missed all of Ignis's lectures on things he should and shouldn't be doing.

The gods, well, one God in particular. Bahamut was generous enough to give them their castle to stay in for their eternity. Noct walked down the familiar stairs towards the dining area where his father was seated. He smiled to himself, he was ecstatic to have his father back, especially with the terms they ended on.

"Hey, dad." Noct said seating himself to the right of his father.

"Noctis" his father nodded in acknowledgment and smiled at his son.

"So it's been two years today." He said and his father nodded, not needing to ask what he meant.

"It has, and I know that you miss your friends, I'm sure they miss you as well, especially the blonde one. What was his name again?"He asked rubbing his beard, trying to remember his name.

"Prompto." Noct answered and conjured up his favorite meal, Mother and Child rice bowl, made and named by Ignis of course. Perks of being in eternity.

"Yes, that was it, he was a rather interesting character." Regis mused, smiling at his son.

"He is. I wish that I got to spend more time with them all, but I cherish what I time I had." Noct said fondly and began to eat his meal.

"I do as well, my son, I'm sorry that you had to go through this so young." His father said forlornly and reached over to rub his son's hand.

"It's cool, not like you wanted it to happen. It's all in the past now." Noct said smiling sadly.

"Of course." He smiled.

"Why is it that we can hear whomever enters our tombs?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. It's interesting though isn't it."

"Definitely." Noct agreed. They sat in silence as Noctis finished off his food.

"Alright, I'm gonna go find Luna." Noct said as he stood up.

"Of course, I will be in the library, should you need me." His father said as he also got up.

"Gotcha." Noctis walked up the stairs, he wasn't really going to find Luna, he just wanted to sit alone in his room. He wondered if his old friends would visit the tomb this year, seeing as they hadn't the previous one.

He pulled out a picture that Prompto had shot of just the two of them in Altissia, before everything went to hell. Well, even further into hell. He sighed setting it down on the bed and laid down. He missed his best friend. He pulled the covers over himself and curled into a ball. He fell asleep shortly after.

He slept for a couple hours. He was woken up by a slight nudging on his arm. He opened his eyes and saw carbuncle, his magical fox friend.

After a minute of staring into each other's eyes, Noct's phone buzzed. That's how the carbuncle communicated with him.

 _Time to wake up Noct_.

"I am up."

 _Your friends are on their way to your tomb_. It said with a happy smiling emoji.

"They actually went this year?"

 _Yep_!

"I honestly didn't think they would." Noct said as he sat up.

 _They wanted to go last year, they just weren't_ _able to_

"I guess so. So can everyone hear what they say, or just me?"

 _Just you. The same with your dad. Only he can hear what goes on in his._

"Gotcha. Why am I nervous about it. It's not like I can see them."

 _Just close your eyes and concentrate_

"Uh, okay then." He mumbled and closed his eyes and concentrated on being in the tomb. He opened his eyes and couldn't help the gasp that escaped, He was standing in his tomb.

"How?" he asked as the carbuncle appeared on the statue of Noct.

 _I don't know, you can ask the big guy later. Your friends are here._ Just as he read that he heard the door slowly creaking open. He saw his three friends walk in and look around and Prompto walked up to his statue. He laid a hand over where Noct's heart would be, Noct could feel the warmth on his chest as if he were actually being touched.

"Hey buddy, been a while since we've visited." He heard Prompto said. He saw Prompto look over at the other two, Gladio nodded at him. " We're all here though. We all miss you." He could tell that he was trying not to burst into tears. He took a deep breath and continued. "Ignis and Gladio brought you some flowers, your favorite ones that you told us about. From Tenebrae." He said and once again looked over at the other two. Gladio walked over and laid his hand over Noct's sword.

"Hey brat, Gladio here," that made Noct laugh and wipe away tears. "Just wanted to say, we all miss you, even me." He said and laughed, but Noct saw the tears that threatened to fall. "The reconstruction with the Crown City is going underway and they're putting suitable Kings on a list. Believe it or not, I'm on that list." He said and glanced over at Prompto who looked surprised and he nodded at the older man.

"Theres a group of doctors there that we talked to and they should be able to restore Iggy's left eye. Within the next year of course." He finished the sentence and Ignis walked to the statue, holding some flowers in one hand and placed his other hand over Noct's head.

"King Noctis, we all miss you dearlg Cindy and the folks in Hammerhead miss you as well." Ignis said and walked over to where Prompto was standing and laid the flowers over his chest. Noct was suddenly overwhelmed with the scent from the flowers. "We wish you could be here." He said and wiped the tear that threatened to fall from his left eye.

Prompto stood up straight and looked at Gladio. "Could you guys give me a minute?" he asked them, they both nodded and walked out the door, leaving it slightly ajar, leaving them slightly in the dark. He wished it was a little brighter so he could see Prompto's face.

He cleared his throat, "Noct, I won't lie, it's been really hard without you. There are days I just want to die, days where the pain is too much. But I know you'd want me to keep going-" damn straight I would" Noct thought. "I haven't stopped taking pictures, that's pretty much all I do now. Pays well enough." He paused and sighed, "I miss hunting with you, I miss being by your side, I miss my damn best friend. I wish that I had told you that I loved you when we were still young. Before Ardyn fucked everything up." Prompto was heavily crying now. Noct walked over and hugged him, not that Prompto would know.

"I love you too Prom." Prompto was heavily crying now, the tears falling onto the stone below him. "Noct, I would give anything to see you once more. I love you." He cried. "I love you so goddamned much that I can't move on. I just want to be with you." He leaned down and laid his head on the statues chest. Noct ran his hands through his hair, he was crying as well now. "I miss you so much man." Noct looked up when he heard the door slightly open and the older two peeked their heads through the door. He heard Gladio whisper to Ignis and he nodded. They both walked in and put on hand on each shoulder.

"Prom, you'll be alright." Gladio said softly to him, he was crying now too.

"We're here for you, you know that." Ignis said, rubbing his arm. Prompto nodded and said thanks.

Gladio let go and told them that it was getting dark and they should probably head out. They all nodded and Prompto stood up and wiped the tears away. "Just let me say goodbye?" he asked and they both nodded and walked out.

He laid his hand back over the statues chest. "Why is this so hard Noct?" he sighed. "I guess I should probably go, it's getting late. I love you, Noct. I'll see you soon." He felt as Prompto kissed the cheek of the statue, then watched as he walked out of the tomb. Noct fell to the ground sobbing, holding onto his chest.


	3. chapter 3

Ignis and Gladio walked out, Ignis looked more pissed than upset. They walked a few yards away from the tomb before Gladio stopped him.

"What's wrong Iggy?" He asked, making his friend stop. Ignis sighed before leaning against a large tree.

"It's just that Prompto is making this about him, when we've lost him too." He sighed, "I loved him too, okay." Ignis admitted.

"We all loved him, we was our friend." Gladio said.

"No, Gladio, I was in love with him." Ignis muttered and put his head down.

"Oh." Was all Gladio said. "I had no idea."

"I didn't want anyone to find out. Especially Noct. Because I knew he loved Prompto." Ignis admitted. "And seeing Prompto in there, it just.." he trailed off.

"No, I get it." He said, they went quiet until Prompto emerged from the tomb.

"Sorry guys." Prompto smiled sadly at them, Ignis just turned his away from the blonde.

"You were in there for a while." He said, not looking at either of them. He sighed and stood up.

"Ignis. I'm sorry, but you know that I loved him." Prompto said, scratching his head.

Ignis sighed and turned to walk the other way, "Prompto, I can't deal with you, now that Noct's gone.."

"Well, it's not like you visited or called me since it happened, so I say you're doing a good job with that." Prompto spat. He doesn't understand why Ignis was acting this way. Ignis started walking away from both of them, towards where the car was parked.

"You can't just start on me like that. What the hell is your problem man?" Prompto nearly yelled. Ignis kept walking, ignoring him. "Ignis!" Prompto yelled again, walking up to the blind man. "What's going on?!"

"You, you act like you're the only one that cares about Noct's death. You act like you were his only friend. You act like you were the only one that loved him! News flash Prompto, I loved him too!" Ignis yelled at him. Making the smaller man flinch. Prompto backed away from Ignis as if struck.

"And goddamn it Prompto, I know that he loved you. I know that I wouldn't have had a chance, but you're not the only one hurting." He yelled.

"Ignis.." Gladio warned in a soft tone, trying to calm him down.

"No, he needs to understand that he's not the only one mourning. All of fucking Eos is mourning." They all knew that Ignis was extremely upset as he never used profanity.

"I get that, but you need to calm down." Gladio said, stepping in front of Ignis so that he couldn't walk towards Prompto. "This isn't the right time for this." He said softly.

"Then when, Gladio?" Ignis seethed.

"When you're both calm and definitely not at Noct's tomb." He said. "What would he think seeing his two friends fighting like this."

"Whatever let's go." Ignis brushed him off and turned to walk back to the car. Gladio looked back at Prompto who looked like he was about to cry.

"I'm sorry, Prom. We'll see you around." He said and took off after Ignis, leaving Prompto standing in front of the tomb.

"It's fine." He whispered. He just wanted to collapse on to the ground and die. Ignis had confessed to him that he loved Noct. Ignis was in love with him. Was that why he had been so distant with him? Prompto just stood there silently as tears fell from his eyes.

He pulled the key back out of his pocket and unlocked the door once again. He walked inside, shutting the door behind him. He collapsed against the door and pulled his phone out. He had no messages, he never did anymore. Sighing he set his phone down beside him and put his head in-between his knees and started crying.

He didn't know how long he sat there before wiping away his tears. "Noct, Iggy hates me. He's in love with you and he fucking hates me." He whispered. "They both took off, I'm just gonna sleep here, if that's alright." Prompto said quietly. As soon as the sentence left his mouth his phone beeped.

"Hey, Prom, sorry about Iggy. He just needs some time to cool down." Gladio had sent. Prompto didn't even bother responding to him. He sighed and laid down. He didn't have to worry about anyone entering the tomb because he had the only key. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, the ground was too cold, and he couldn't get comfortable. He sighed and pulled his phone out. Though it didn't matter, there was no one he could talk to. Sighing, he sat up and just stared at Noct's stone silhouette. He stared until he fell asleep, laying his head against the door.

Prompto woke up, not knowing where he was. He looked around and noticed a giant castle in the distance. He jumped as he heard a soft mew come from below him.

"What?" he asked and scratched his head. His phone buzzed from his back pocket. "huh." he pulled it out and there was a message from an unknown number.

 _Hi, you must be Prompto_.

"Uh, yeah?" he just mumbled.

 _My name is Carbuncle, I'm a friend of Noct's_.

"You know Noct?" he asked shocked.

 _Yep, he lives here with his father, I can show you around if you want_.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Prompto said to the fox.

 _Right this way!_ It sent with a smiling emojj. They walked towards the castle and were almost there when his phone when off again.

 _Are you excited to see Noct?_

"Will I actually see him, or is this a dream?" he asked his magical guide as they kept walking

 _This is real, you're in the Astral Plain, not many who live get the privilege to see it. They must have felt you were special. Noct certainly does._

"Oh wow, so did Noct hear everything that was said. While we were all in the tomb?" Prompto asked his guide.

 _Oh he heard everything, even what happened outside._ It sent with a sad face.

"Right." Prompto sighed.

They walked in silence as they approached the castle. Prompto was feeling anxious. But definitely excited.

 _There's nothing to be worried about, your friend is very excited to see you again._ It told him before they entered. The first person Prompto saw was King Regis, he automatically bowed before the former King.

"Prompto, you don't have to do that, I'm no longer King." Regis said, laughing.

"Uh, old habits." Prompto said and rubbed his neck.

"Of course. You know, not many mortals have ever been to the Astral Plain. You should consider yourself lucky." He told him as he approached the younger man. He put his hand on the blondes shoulder. "Thank you for being there for my son." He told Prompto.

"It wasn't a problem, he was my best friend, sir." Prompto smiled to the old King.

"Well, I am thankful to you. Noct is upstairs in his room. I'm sure our friend here will show you the way." He said and let go of the younger man.

"Thank you." Prompto said and bowed, out of respect.

 _Come on Prompto, Noct is this way._ The fox sent to this phone.

"Coming." Prompto said and followed the creature.

On the way up the stairs he passed Luna, who smiled wide at him and nodded.

"Who all is here, exactly?" Prompto asked the fox.

 _Noctis, his dad, Luna, and her brother._

"That's all?" Prompto asked. He expected a lot more people to be here.

 _This is their part of eternity. Each has their separate piece of time._ It told him.

"Oh, this is so weird." Prompto said to himself as they approached the hall. The fox ran ahead and paused outside the third door to the right.

 _This is it. Your friend waits inside. I'll se ya around_. It said with a waving emoji. It ran off back down the stairs.

Prompto took a deep breath and knocked on the bedroom door. A few seconds later the door slowly opened. Prompto looked before him and there he was, his best friend. Prompto nearly cried at the sight of him.


	4. Chapter 4

Prompto quickly wiped away his tears and pulled his best friend into a hug. He couldn't believe that he was standing in front of him, in his arms. It was surreal. He pulled away for a moment, as new tears fell from his eyes. He looked amazing, not like the day that they were reunited after 10 years, he looked happy. He didn't have those dark black circles under his eyes, and he didn't look too skinny the way he did back then. He looked perfect.

"Noct, I can't believe it. I've missed you so much!" Prompto cried. He felt Noct chuckle and rub his back, comforting him.

"I know Prom, I've missed you too." Noct whispered, he was softly crying now as well. They stayed in their embrace for what felt like hours. Prompto let go first, but refused to step away.

"I didn't think it would be possible to see you again. This still feels like a dream!" Prompto exclaimed, he couldn't keep the wide smile off of his face.

"The god are generous indeed." Noct smiled back at his blonde friend. He stared into Prompto's eyes and nearly got lost in the,. Gods how he missed staring into those light blue orbs. He regrets that he never got a chance to confess his feelings to his best friend. There were too many problems for them to focus on. But the time that passed did not lessen how much he cared for him.

"Prom.." Noct started, his eyes darting to his lips and back to his eyes.

"Y..Yeah.." Prompto stuttered and blushed as Noct stared at him.

"I just wanted to say that I love you and I regret not telling you when I was still on Eos." Noct whispered.

"I...I love you too Noct, I've wanted to tell you for so long." Prompto nearly sobbed. His heart beating fast at his friends confession.

Noct didn't say anything, just smiled at him and it melted Prompto's heart. He leaned down and kissed his cheek, Prompto closed his eyes and leaned into Noct.

"I know that I can't stay here, but I can't help but want to." Prompto said, looking up at Noct. "I'll have to leave eventually." He said sadly. He didn't want to leave, not when he just got Noct back. He didn't want to let him out of his sight ever again. The thought of waking without him in the cold tomb made him want to cry.

"I know, I wish that I could go with you, I really do, but I can't. I don't want you to go either, but you have to. Ignis and Gladio need their friend." Noct told him, hugging him tightly.

"Ignis hates me. He told me that he was in love with you too. And he got mad that I was so upset about visiting you." Prompto started crying again.

"He doesn't hate you Prom. I'm sure that he will move on eventually. Hell, I though him and Gladio were going at it for the longest time. Maybe they will, who knows. But just give him time." Noct said, rubbing his back up and down.

"You're right. After we buried you, he refused to talk to me, Gladio would occasionally call and check up on me, but more often than not I'd have to call them. And whenever I did call, Ignis wouldn't want to speak to me."

"I'm so sorry, I wish that I could smack some sense into them." Noct said.

"I know you would, it'll be alright. I'm sure if I let them calm down and try to talk to them, it'll be alright. I just miss all of us hanging out and camping. I still look at all of our old pictures." Prompto said softly, he looked up at Noct and smiled.

"What?" Noct asked as Prompto smiled sweetly at him, he couldn't help but to return the smile.

"Just thinking of some of those pictures I'd sneak of you, and how you'd get so mad. I still have those."

"I was never actually mad at you, it was just a front." Noct admitted, rubbing his neck.

"I know. You could never be mad at me." Prompto said and stuck his tongue out at Noct.

Noct was about to lean down and kiss Prompto when his phone dinged, notifying him of a message.

 _I hate to do this Prom, but it's almost time to wake up._ It was a message from Carbunkle.

"So soon?" Prompto said forlornly, looking up at Noct. The other boy gave a knowing look. He stepped away from Prompto, looking extremely depressed.

 _It's almost 10 am on Eos. Time works differently here._ Carbunkle sent with a sad face.

"I understand, but I wish I didn't have to leave you again." Prompto sighed and looked up at Noct. He pulled him into a tight hug.

"I wish I could go with you." Noct said and teared up.

"No, you can't cry, cause then I'll cry." Prompto joked, but he was already tearing up. Noct leaned down and pressed his lips against Prompto's.

"I love you, pleae never forget that." Noct told him and pulled away.

"How could I, you're the only one for me, I love you too." He nodded at Carbunkle, who had walked into the room when Noct stepped away, signaling that he was ready to leave.


	5. Chapter 5

Gladio quickly walked after Ignis, leaving Prompto in front of the tomb. He immediately felt bad as he heard Prompto cry, but he had to make sure that his blind friend didn't get lost, or worse. Gladio was confident that Prompto could handle himself well enough to not get himself killed.

Gladio finally caught up to Ignis and they walked in silence back to the car. He opened the door and helped him into the seat. He got into the seat but didn't start the car. He wanted to wait just a few minutes to see if Prompto would come.

"Why aren't we leaving yet?" Ignis huffed, fixing his glasses.

"Because we're waiting on Prompto." Gladio told him. "Don't you think you were a little hard on him?" Gladio asked, but only recieved silence.

"Right." Gladio sighed and checked his phone, he sent a text to Prompto, apologizing for Ignis. He waited about 15 minutes before finally giving up. He checked his phone once more and sighed. They rode in silence the whole way back to Hammerhead, Ignis sulking the whole time. They saw Cindy approach as they were pulling in. Gladio got out and helped Ignis out of the car. Cindy was looking for Prompto in the backseat, but didn't see him anywhere.

"Where's Prompto?" She asked, eyeing Gladio. Ignis ignored her and made his way to the mobile trailer. "What's up with him?" She asked, pointing her thumb at Ignis's back.

"Prompto stayed back at the tomb. Him and Ignis got into an argument. Ignis stormed off and I followed since he can't see. I waited for him after texting him and he never came, so I left." He explained, she gave him a confused brow and was visibly upset.

"Ya just left him there?" She asked in disbelief. "That's low, Gladio." She scolded.

"Yeah, well, he knew where the car was, and I waited for him. But it was getting late. I did send him a text, but he never responded." Gladio said in a neutral tone.

"I still can't believe you'd leave him there. What'd they fight about anyways?" She asked him as they started to walk towards the diner.

"Well, Ignis felt that Prompto was making this trip about him, the kid was in love with Noct, so I completely understand why he was so upset. But we left Prompto alone for a few minutes and Ignis told me that he was also in love with Noct, and then Ignis pretty much exploded on Prompto." Gladio told her as they sat down in a booth, putting his head in his hands and sighed.

"Well, damn." She sighed as well, "I wonder how the kid is doin'?" Cindy thought out loud.

"Probably crying his eyes out, Ignis was brutal." Gladio said, looking up at Cindy, she could see the pain in his eyes. "I'm going to try and call him soon, hopefully he'll pick up. I'd like to know he's okay."

"Good, he doesn't need to think he's alone with all of this." Cindy said.

"I know, chances are he's passed out in the tomb, best case."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Gladio decided to call Prompto. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed his info. It rang until it went to voicemail.

"Hey Prompto, it's Gladio, I was calling to make sure you're alright. Just give me a call back when you get this." He left the message and set his phone on the table. "Gods, I wish everything could go back to the way it was."

"I know, hun." Cindy said softly, reaching over and rubbed his hand, comforting him, "Listen, I'm gonna head to bed, but if you need anything or hear from Prom, don't hesitate to wake me up." She said and stood up.

Gladio nodded and said his thanks. She walked off, leaving Gladio alone in the booth. He just stared at his hands for a while, then left for the trailer. He walked in and went to the little kitchen and made some cup noodles. He figured Ignis had already gone to bed. He decided that's what he would do as well. If he didn't hear from Prompto when he woke up, he would go look for him, he was worried about him. He checked his phone once more before plugging it into the charger and headed to bed. He walked into the room and saw Ignis laying on the bed, facing away from him.

"I'm going to check on Prompto in the morning." Gladio announced as he climbed onto the other bed. He was met with complete silence, either the other man was asleep or ignoring him. Gladio sighed and rolled over, facing away from Ignis. He hoped that they would all figure this situation out, he hated seeing him fight. He just wished that they were still all traveling together, before the world went to shit. He laid motionless for a while before eventually falling asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Prompto woke up, his back aching from sleeping on the cold stone. He sat up and grabbed his phone from the ground. He turned it back on and saw a couple messages from Gladio and a missed call. He dialed his voicemail to listen to what he said.

" _Hey Prompto, it's Gladio, I was calling to make sure you're alright. Just give me a call when you get this."_ He hung up the voicemail and went to the text messages. The first was the one from last night, and a new one from an hour ago.

 **Gladio (9:24 a.m.)** Hey Prom, are you okay? I'm coming to get you soon. So call when you can. Prompto decided to call instead of texting back, Gladio answered on the third ring.

"Hey, you okay?" Gladio asked as soon as he picked up.

"Yeah, I fell asleep inside the tomb." Prompto told him. "Is Ignis still mad at me?" Prompto asked sheepishly and stood up.

"Hell, He's mad at the world right now. He's not talked to me since getting to the car yesterday. I'm actually parked where we arrived yesterday, if you wanna come on out." Gladio said.

"Yeah, alright. On my way." Prompto said and hung up. He picked the key off of the ground and walked out, locking the tomb behind him, giving it one last look, he sighed and started walking to where Gladio was parked.

Gladio was leaned up against the passenger door waiting on Prompto. "Hey." Gladio nodded at Prompto as he approached, the kid overall looked fine, if a bit melancholy.

"Hey.." He said, looking at the ground, he felt like Gladio hated him as well.

"So, about yesterday," Gladio started, but Prompto interrupted him.

"I'm sorry! I know you guys loved Noct too, and I shouldn't have been selfish yesterday. I deserve everything Ignis said to me and more." Prompto said in a quick breath. He was breathing heavily, trying to keep himself from crying.

"That's not what I was going to say. You didn't deserve any of that Prompto. Ignis had no place to go off on you like that." Gladio said and pulled Prompto into a tight hug, reassuring him that he cared. He let go shortly after that. "You're my friend, Prompto, you had me worried when you didn't answer your phone." Gladio said, softly punching him on the arm, "Cindy too. Hell, I thought she was gonna bite my head off when she saw you weren't with us." He laughed.

"Really? Yeah, I guess she's a bit protective over me." Prompto blushed and rubbed his neck.

"All I'm saying is, don't ever think that we don't care about you, Ignis does too, he's just in his own feelings right now. I'm sure once we all get this talked out we'll be fine, now let's get back to Hammerhead and show Cindy that you're fine." Gladio said and walked to the driver side of the car. Prompto got into the passenger seat and shut the door. He pulled his phone and saw that the Carbunkles messages were no longer on his phone. He admittedly was a bit disappointed.

Gladio looked over and saw Prompto frowning down at his phone. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked as they took off to Hammerhead.

"It's..., " he paused, not sure if he should tell Gladio what happened in the tomb last night, or if he would even believe him. If the roles were reversed he probably wouldn't. "It's nothing." He eventually said, looking at him and giving him a forced smile.

"Normally I would call you on your bullshit, but you've got a lot goin' on. But if you do wanna talk about it, just let me know." Gladio told him.

"Thanks, big guy." Prompto said and went back to staring at his phone. He wants to tell him, but was worried that Gladio wouldn't believe him. Prompto sighed and stared out the window as the landscape zoomed by.


	7. Chapter 7

The ride back to Hammerhead was quiet, the music Gladio was playing on the radio the only sound in the car. Prompto was nervous that Ignis would set off on him again as soon as they arrived. Once was barely enough for him to handle. He hoped that they could put this all behind them and be friends again.

They pulled into Hammerhead, Cindy was lounging in one of her chairs, she saw them pulling in and nearly jumped out of her seat. She ran up to the car, barely waiting on Gladio to stop, and stood outside of Prompto's door. "Thank goodness you're alright!" she said, pulling him into a hug, nearly knocking him off of his feet.

"I'm sorry, Cindy." He apologized and rubbed his neck awkwardly as she let him go.

"I know, I was just worried. Gladio too." She smiled at him, "You two hungry?" She asked.

"Starving, Gladio?" Prompto turned to Gladio.

"I could eat." Gladio said and they walked to the diner. Prompto was relieved to see that Ignis wasn't in the diner.

They sat in a booth and Takka quickly took their orders. Gladio turned to Cindy and asked what Ignis was up to. She told him that he hadn't left the trailer all morning. Prompto looked over at the trailer and felt guilty, they probably blamed him.

"When did you guys say you were heading out?" Prompto asked Gladio.

"We haven't decided yet, but probably tonight, since Ignis is being this way." Gladio told him and then gave a questioning look, "Why you asking?" Prompto was about to answer but Takka brought out their food and he stuffed his mouth, burning the roof of his mouth in the process.

"Just curious, Figured he would wanna leave like A.S.A.P.." Prompto said, swallowing his fries. "Plus, I need to tell you something about the tomb, something happened last night. You guys will probably just think that I'm nuts." He told him.

"Wait, what do you mean something happened at the tomb?" Cindy asked him, picking at her fries.

"Well, let's just say that I got to see Noct last night. And before you say it was a dream, it wasn't." He said, pointing a look at Gladio.

"The fuck Prompto?" Gladio said with a sarcastic laugh. "Noct's dead, there's no way that you saw him."

"I swear Gladio, I'm not lying. When you come back from wherever you're taking Ignis, I'll prove it" He said.

"Fine, Fine. It might take a couple weeks for me to be able to get back here, but when I do, I guess you'll show me what you mean." He said devouring his burger, not caring to talk with a mouthful of food.

"I will, I'm not lying. He told me that he wished that he could smack some sense into all of us. That we're acting ridiculous. He heard everything that went on inside and out of the tomb. So he knows about mine and Ignis's fight." Prompto said.

"Well, I don't really have anything to say. Guess we'll just wait and see." Gladio said and finished off his plate.

"Yeah, I'm probably gonna head to Lestallum and grab my stuff from the hotel." Prompto told him and turned to Cindy, " Would it be cool if I stayed here for a while." He asked her.

"Of course, you don't even have to ask." She smiled at him.

"Alright, so I guess I'm gonna get ready to head out, grab Ignis too." Gladio said climbing out of the booth, leaving his money for his food on the table.

"I didn't really bring much, besides it's all in my car. Guess i'll leave when they do." Prompto told Cindy as they both paid for their meal and walked out of the diner.

The three of them gathered their things and loaded up. Gladio helped Ignis into the car and shut the door, he walked over to Prompto and gave him a hug, and told him that he'd call when he was able to head back. He gave Cindy a hug as well, then got into the drivers side and they slowly pulled off the lot, back to Insomnia. Prompto sighed and turned to Cindy, she gave him a tight hug and told him to hurry back. He let go and got into his car and started for Lestallum.


	8. Chapter 8

Noct watched as Prompto and Carbunkle walk out of his room. He doesn't know when he'll see him again. Watching him leave nearly broke his heart. He sighed and sat on the edge of his bed, putting his head in his hands. He was very close to a breakdown, he was trying very hard to keep it in. Three knocks to his door caused him to nearly fall of the bed, he looked up to see Luna sticking her head around the door, a sad smile on her face.

"Noct, would you like to talk?" She asked, smiling at him. Noct didn't know what he did to deserve Luna. She literally gave her life so that he could defeat Leviathan. She knew about his feelings towards Prompto and still wanted to be his friend. She was the sweetest person he knew, but also one of the most brave.

"You can come in if you want, I'll be alright though." He told her and moved over to give her room to sit next to him.

She walked in and sat down next to him, she grabbed his hand gently and held it. "You'll see them again." she told him. "I'm very sure of it. I've actually come to tell you something." she said, he could tell whatever it was, it was very important. She was noticeably excited.

"What is it? You're obviously pleased with whatever it is." He chuckled, waiting on her to tell him.

"Well, I've been informed that since we both pretty much saved Eos, that we can choose a gift from Bahamut. And I've already talked to him, for the both of us, I'm pretty sure we want the same thing." She said, smiling widely.

"Wait.." Noct slowly realized where this was headed, and hugged her tightly. "We both get to go back?"

"Yes, but there is a catch, of sorts. The only people that will remember you will be your friends." That didn't matter to Noct, he was just ready to go back to his friends, he didn't care if anyone else knew who he was.

"So that means, I will no longer be The King? What about the Armiger?" Noct asked, those were the only other important things to him besides his friends.

"I was told that you cannot be King, but you will be able to call upon the Armiger." She told him, Noct nodded, he didn't care about the king bit, he really didn't want to be the king, if he was being honest with himself. "When can we leave?" Noct asked her and stood up.

"When you are ready, let us say our goodbyes."

"Right, I'm sure dad will miss us." Noct said and followed Luna down the stairs. "So, I'm assuming that we're going to come back from where we're both buried, separately."

"You are correct. It would be wise for us to make a plan of where to meet." She told him as they walked down the stairs towards the kitchen.

"Well, If you can get a ship, we can meet at Galdin Quey. If that's okay with you." He said as they approached the table where his father was sitting.

"Dad, I'm assuming you know." Noct said, walking over to where his dad was sitting, his dad nodded and stood up.

"I do, and I'm very happy that you get to see the world that you saved once more." He said and pulled his son into a hug, "I won't lie, it will be quite boring here without either of you. Be sure to visit my tomb and say hi to your father every once and a while." Regis said and smiled. "Take care of Luna, not that she needs your protection." He told him

"Of course, I'll miss you too dad, but I'm ready to see my friends, to see Prompto again." Noct smiled. Luna grabbed Noct's hand and led him to where Carbunkle was waiting. They both closed their eyes and Noct felt as thin as air and then everything went black and he felt empty.

Next thing he knew he was pushing the lid of his stone statue, it thudded against the ground and Noct gasped for air. It's been a while since oxygen has been required. He wished he had a phone to see what day it was. He stretched his arms and they popped in several places. He stood up and stepped out of his prison and stretched his legs, it felt nice to actually feel his legs. The sweet pain of stretching, he had missed it. Noct felt in his pockets and pulled a key out, thankfully there were ways to unlock the tomb from the inside, just in case he didn't have the key. He stretched one more time and his stomach rumbled extremely loud, gods he was hungry, like he hadn't eaten in years.

He pried the door to the tomb open and had to shield his eyes, the sun nearly blinded his unprepared eyes. He walked outside, he felt extremely weak, like his legs would go out at any moment. He forced himself to walk, he turned and locked the door. He walked down the hill to where the road was and nearly cried, he couldn't believe that he was back. He probably looked a mess, but he would fix that when he could, he was more worried about getting to Hammerhead. He doesn't know exactly where he was, or how far away Hammerhead was from him, but he had to pick a direction and stick to it, and hopefully not starve to death.


End file.
